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Heart Rhythm Institute

Posted on August 15th, 2016
Norma first visited the Oklahoma Heart Hospital in 2010. She had been traveling and not feeling very well, so she made an appointment with her primary care physician when she returned home. Her primary care physician diagnosed her with atrial fibrillation and referred her to an Oklahoma Heart Hospital physician immediately. She began taking medications for AFib and also had a mitral valve... Read More
Posted on August 1st, 2016
Regular follow-up appointments are important for patients with pacemakers and defibrillators. When a patient arrives at Oklahoma Heart Hospital or one if its satellite pacemaker clinics for a device follow-up appointment, an assistant takes vital signs, talks with the patient about how they have been feeling, and reviews their current medications. Then the device technician brings in the cart to... Read More
Posted on July 15th, 2016
Surgical ablation is used to treat atrial fibrillation in patients for whom other treatment options, such as medications and catheter ablation, have not been successful. The Oklahoma Heart Hospital uses two types of surgical ablation: convergent (or hybrid) ablation and Cox Maze IV ablation.   The convergent ablation procedure combines the expertise of a cardiothoracic surgeon and an... Read More
Posted on July 6th, 2016
Surgical ablation is a procedure used to treat atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib, is generally not a life-threatening condition on its own, but it puts patients at greater risk for stroke. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, fatigue, light headedness, dizziness and heart palpitations — all of which can impact your... Read More
Posted on June 1st, 2016
As you go through a normal day of walking around, taking the stairs, or lifting something heavy, your body makes adjustments to better accomplish each task. For example, your heart rate increases in order to pump more blood to your body as you begin an activity. But if you have a slow or abnormal heart rhythm, the heart doesn’t adequately respond to the situation, which can leave you... Read More
Posted on May 15th, 2016
Ejection fraction is a measurement of the heart’s overall efficiency as it pumps blood to the body. A low ejection fraction can be a sign of cardiac disease or damage to the heart, including damage from consistent high blood pressure that affects the pumping function of the heart or genetic conditions that impact the heart. A normal ejection fraction range is 65 percent plus or minus 12, or... Read More
Posted on May 1st, 2016
When treating health concerns that may impact the heart, it’s important for doctors to know how well a patient’s heart works. Enter the ejection fraction, a calculation that helps doctors measure the efficiency of the heart. The heart has both a left ejection fraction and a right ejection fraction since each side of the heart pumps separately — the left side of the heart pumps blood to the brain... Read More
Posted on April 15th, 2016
One of the most common types of syncope is reflex mediated syncope, also called neurally mediated or vasovagal syncope. With this type of syncope, episodes occur because of miscues in the autonomic nervous system, or the system that controls regular bodily functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and digestion. Receptors in the human body send information to the brain, and the brain regulates... Read More
Posted on April 4th, 2016
Syncope is a sudden, complete loss of consciousness commonly described as fainting or passing out. In a typical syncope episode, a person will be standing and simply pass out with little to no warning. They will be unconscious for just a few minutes and may feel warm or appear flushed when they wake up. Syncope on its own may not be dangerous, aside from some risk of injury when passing out.... Read More
Posted on March 15th, 2016
Every patient diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (aka AFib or AF) is unique — the length and frequency of their irregular rhythms vary, they have different health histories and risk factors, and they may respond differently to available treatment options. Your doctor at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital will work with you to determine the best course of action to help you manage AF and reduce your risk... Read More

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